If this is a scam, please explain it to me....

[Rick Potter]

I am trying to sell a pickup for my 91 year old BIL, who is sick.

I put the ad on CL at midnight last night, and did not even have the pics up until 11 tonight, but still got a bunch of replies. Two of them stated they would buy it at listed price ($30K) but could not come to see it for various reasons. Sounds hinky naturally, but they both offer to send me a check, wait till it clears, and then they will send someone to pick it up.

All they are asking from me is name, address, cell number, and asking price. No mention of bank info, or anything else. I suspect if I jump on it they will ask for bank info or other info. Am I right, or could this be legit?

Thanks for any info.

PS: The first one just backed out, saying he thought it was 4WD, so only one now.

[Tim Elett]

I worked with a guy that was offered the same deal forty years ago, i guess after the check bounces, the person cashing the check, is on the hook for the money.

[Brian Runau]

I am trying to sell a pickup for my 91 year old BIL, who is sick.

I put the ad on CL at midnight last night, and did not even have the pics up until 11 tonight, but still got a bunch of replies. Two of them stated they would buy it at listed price ($30K) but could not come to see it for various reasons. Sounds hinky naturally, but they both offer to send me a check, wait till it clears, and then they will send someone to pick it up.

All they are asking from me is name, address, cell number, and asking price. No mention of bank info, or anything else. I suspect if I jump on it they will ask for bank info or other info. Am I right, or could this be legit?

Thanks for any info.

PS: The first one just backed out, saying he thought it was 4WD, so only one now.

Anything I sell online I list as " cash and local only." There is no issue of them physically picking up the product. Cash may not be practical in this case. Did you consider selling to carmax or caravans to avoid potential fraud. Brian

[Brian Tymchak]

I worked with a guy that was offered the same deal forty years ago, i guess after the check bounces, the person cashing the check, is on the hook for the money.

It takes just a few minutes for a bank to verify if the check is good before cashing it.

[roger wiegand]

Absolutely a scam. It takes much longer for a check to actually "clear" than it does for the money to appear in your account. Checks can (and do) bounce weeks after they've been deposited. AFIAK no bank will "verify" that a check is good. They _might_ tell you sufficient funds are present in the moment, but that is no guarantee that the money will be there when the actual transaction happens many days later. A wire transfer is probably the most secure and difficult to fake means of exchanging money. A bank service like Zelle offers similar security. Cash, assuming it's not counterfeit, is also good, but has attendant risks of loss or theft. Likewise a cashiers check, drawn on the bank's own account (different from a "certified check" drawn on the individual's account) is also good, subject to any good forger being able to make a fake check that will pass inspection.

[Tom M King]

Money and vehicle transfer at your bank only. No wire transfer. You would have to give bank account routing and account number. Zelle has limits. Cash or certified check at your bank to be verified by a banker there only.

[Ronald Blue]

It takes just a few minutes for a bank to verify if the check is good before cashing it.

Most banks because of privacy laws will give little info over the phone. They may verify there is an account but not necessarily if the check will clear. The account might be legit but that doesn't mean the check is. So many counterfeit checks produced by scammers these days. The old way of waiting 10 days for a check to clear isn't a sure thing any longer. This smells like a big time scam though. Check the spelling and punctuation in the reply. Remember the old adage "if it sounds to good to be true it probably is".

[Mark Hennebury]

100% scam!

[glenn bradley]

Another loss for the decent folks. We used to just call the bank to verify or go into a branch of the bank that the check was written against and verify / cash it on the spot. It sounds like this is no longer done. Regardless I would not be comfortable selling a vehicle as you describe. Used cars are still bringing a premium right now and rightfully so. There is a legitimate buyer out there at the right price point.

[Jim Becker]

That is 110% a long time scam...do not entertain the thought of even continuing communication with anyone responding like that. This particular kind of scam has been happening for decades on online marketplaces like CL. The check will likely be for more than the amount you want with a request to send back the difference or some variation of that theme. You end up not having a buyer in the end since they are not "real". and are out the money you send back plus the bounced check fee. You want a local buyer only with cash or certified funds on a local bank.

BTW, Facebook Marketplace is getting strong market reach in many areas. And also get quotes from Carmax and other vehicle buying services. The funds are good and sometimes competitive with private sales when you consider it removes the hassles.

[michael langman]

Rick, The exact same thing happened to me trying to sell my boat on craigslist. I went through the same thing you are going through . I was pretty sure it was a scam after researching online, and talked to my credit union. They said that the check sent to me looked too authentic to determine it was a fake. I would be liable for the funds if the check bounced..

I did not cash the check and when the scammer called me and acted threatening to me that I had not cashed his check that supposedly cost him money to make. I told him to come and see me in person and I would gladly give him back his check.

[Bill Dufour]

The one who backed out might be legit. the others are scams. It can take a month to 45 days for a check to bounce. Even if it shows as being deposited the bank can retroactively remove the funds.
Bill D

[Bruce Page]

I sold my last car through Carmax after playing the CL, etc game. It was almost painless.

[Rick Potter]

Got it.

What made me wonder is that they offered to wait until the check cleared. I was not aware that checks could be denied AFTER clearing, and the last thing I want is to owe my BIL money I don't have.

I sold my last car to a dealer at a satisfactory price, and I have gotten Kelly Blue Book estimates of the price on the pickup, including selling it to a dealer. The average KBB trade in price was $23,205, but the price they came up with for selling to a dealer was $9800. Makes no sense to me either, but dealers were all very anxious.

An RV dealer said he would put it on the lot for $30, so we are trying for that as an asking price. It is a low mileage diesel dually.

Thank you for the help, I think we should list it on other sites, and stay local.

[Jim Koepke]

I had not cashed his check that supposedly cost him money to make.

My father used to gripe that it cost him ten cents to write a check on his business. Knowing my father that was the cost of the printed check and everything else he could imagine. If someone was counterfeiting checks it might have cost them more to "make" a check.

The one who backed out might be legit.

It might have been the same person on a different email account trying to make the seller think his buyers were disappearing.

The cost of cars today makes selling them as an individual a possibly dangerous enterprise. My last vehicle sale was an old truck for $550. That wasn't a lot of cash and I had about 5 offers in the first two hours on Craigs List. I may have been able to get more. That is water under the bridge.

An RV dealer said he would put it on the lot for $30, so we are trying for that as an asking price.

You may want to check with your insurance company to make sure the vehicle is covered for anything that may occur while at said dealer. Also make sure what the dealer may expect as a commission on any sale.

jtk